At Any Cost
by SassyAngel05
Summary: The gang thought threatening Logan would make him own up to his actions, but they soon realized there was another way. LV
1. Chapter 1

_**At Any Cost**_

_**Chapter One**_

_**Taken**_

Weevil would never approve what they were about to do. Going against the head of their gang was not one of their more brilliant ideas, but Auggie and Miguel knew that this would work against the Echolls kid. The two had tried several different methods to make him talk, per Weevil's orders, but he still claimed innocence and ignorance at what had truly happened the night Felix had been murdered. It was Auggie's idea, after playing yet another game of Russian roulette with Logan, to bring her into it. Everyone knew that Veronica Mars got under Echolls' skin in a variety of different ways. Auggie began to muse about bringing her there, in the garage where Logan was being kept, her life threatened just enough to make him panic. Echolls might want to play hero, give up his ridiculous claims of innocence if Veronica was frightened enough. Of course, making Veronica Mars scared would take a whole other level of danger, since the girl seemed unflappable now. It wasn't that Auggie didn't like her. She and Weevil had some sort of mutualistic relationship that ended in both of them getting out of trouble for the favors they offered up. He didn't mind helping her out. But this was for Felix. They had known Weevil would never agree with them; never agree to let Veronica become involved in their vigilante justice. Veronica would probably be able to talk Weevil out of it anyway, and get herself and Logan out of whatever trouble they were in. Weevil had some sort of soft spot for the not so rich white girl and going against that was dangerous for both Auggie and Miguel. Auggie knew it was worth taking the chance, though, especially if they got the results they had been trying for. Getting Felix's killer to accept the blame would be worth any kind of fall out he might receive from Weevil. Weevil would be able to talk Veronica out of pressing charges, even if she was completely pissed off at being used like a pawn in this war between Logan and the gang. She would accept it as another favor, eventually, he was sure. Weevil would just owe her big. And he would owe Weevil big. He sent Miguel after her, warning him of the dog, of the dad, and most of all, of her.

Despite the line of work she was in, Veronica Mars had never really considered she would be kidnapped. Her father was never involved in cases that dangerous, with the exception of Lilly's, and the worry of her being kidnapped for ransom or as a threat to get him to back off, so it had never crossed her mind. She rarely feared for her life, most of their work now consisted of getting the money shot of cheating spouses and her father was always out catching bail jumpers. Her investigation of the bus crash had proved fruitless so far, so she hadn't even stumbled onto anything threatening to the party responsible. Veronica had seen a lot of troubled families and unconscionable people in their business, but she had never expected to be dragged from her apartment in the middle of the night, while her father was away investigating an insurance fraud case, and Backup tied to a table, muzzled, unable to fight off her attacker in any way. She didn't scream, though she was actually frightened. She would remain tough, and be ready to look for a chance of escape when the opportunity presented itself. She tried to remain calm and unsurprised, but she couldn't when she was tossed onto the front of a motorcycle, the kidnapper's arms wrapped tightly around her. He was a member of the PCH gang. He had to be. Hardly anyone else drove motorcycles in Neptune. How could Weevil let this happen? She knew things had been different since the battle between the haves and have nots had worsened, since Logan had been accused and freed of Felix's murder and various acts of arson had occurred between the two groups. But she didn't believe that he would allow this to happen. Something bad had to be happening. She had no doubt. She thought there would be no more surprises, at least until they got to where they were headed, but she was wrong. She hadn't expected the drug to be pushed over her mouth, she hadn't meant to breathe it in, and she most certainly hadn't intended to lose

consciousness before they had arrived.

Logan Echolls had almost always been a cocky bastard, no denying it. Since the age of two, he'd demanded his will be done and accepted nothing less than that. He had always been sure of himself and truly believed that every bit of privilege he'd been given was obviously well-deserved and those who didn't have it, didn't deserve it. He had his moments of vulnerability; though not many claimed to see a softer side of Logan. Logan put up a good front and he'd cling to that image for as long as he could. However, when the gang members had brought him to this place, he was no longer able to keep up his typical façade. He'd been terrified and he wasn't afraid to admit it. Having a gun pointed at various parts of his anatomy did not bring pleasure to him, and he didn't know how to get out of this terrible situation he'd been put in. Still, his anger and displeasure at being tied up and forced to scream about how he didn't know what had happened that night on the bridge sustained him. He hadn't prepared himself for how low the gang was willing to go for answers, though. No idea at all. He saw her hair first, dangling in front of her face as her arms stretched over her head. He recognized the form instantly and a cold sweat broke out over his body. Why did they have Veronica? The gang had never gone after her before, not since that day she had fought against them and cut the scrawny kid from the flagpole. This was not a good sign, this showed there was dissention amongst the bikers, because as much as Logan hated Weevil, Logan was aware he wouldn't let Veronica be dragged into their battle, directly. He tried not to flinch or show any kind of emotion at what he saw, but it was too late. The one with the gun had seen the look on his face and a slow smile spread over his face.

"Yeah, it's probably good she's unconscious right now. I'd hate for her to see you cry when you finally give me what I want."

Logan wished desperately that he could recognize the voice, know who had kidnapped him. He'd never really desired to know the lower half, particularly the biker gang. After all, they'd all end up serving him after they graduated high school, what was the point in getting to know them? Now he wished he'd given the gang a little more consideration.

"Why the hell did you bring Veronica Mars into this? I don't know if you missed the news, but she was locked in a freezer by my father around the time that Felix was killed. You can check that alibi. It's in every major newspaper, tabloid, and news-station in the nation."

Logan's comment obviously irritated the masked man. He continued his work of tying Veronica to the chair, her hands bound in front of her, while he wrapped the rope around a chair. Her head lulled in front of her in a sort of ghostly calm that freaked Logan out a bit. He couldn't only wonder what they had done to her. The man finally snorted.

"We don't think this tiny blond overpowered Felix. We know it was you, that's why you are here. She's just our way to make you own up to your actions and realize that even though this is a rich white man's world, you're not going to just get away with killing one of ours." Thug Number One, as Logan fondly began referring to them in his head as, said smartly at Logan.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard this speech before. _You only got off because of your rich daddy_…" Logan stopped the accent he'd used to imitate his captor and paused long enough to make his point, "my rich daddy who is now rotting rightfully away in prison for killing my girlfriend. So obviously your 'it's a rich white man's world' excuse isn't that viable."

"You're father killed a rich white girl. You killed a poor Mexican boy. There's no comparing that."

Logan rolled his eyes, trying to make his bravado return after his breakdown of pitiful screams when he thought his hand was going to be blown off. The minute he saw Veronica he knew he had to stop worrying about himself for two seconds to get her out of this mess. This was the reason she'd broken up with him, wasn't it? She was afraid he'd end up getting them both killed because he'd been so careless with his retaliation against the gang. Maybe she'd been right. At first, he'd assumed it was just a ploy to separate herself from him so she could return to Duncan's warm, yet boring arms. Now he wondered if she had possibly seen something like this happening, after all, she was the girl detective.

"Still, Veronica really had nothing to do with this. Go ask your ring leader. I'm sure he'll tell you to leave her alone."

Logan fell silent when he saw the two guys exchange glances. A small, boyish laugh erupted from his mouth, a dangerous action for someone with a gun in his face.

"You mean Weevs doesn't know about this? You went behind his back to catch me and Veronica. Oh, this is rich. He's going to be happy when he finds out. He'll probably have you beaten to a pulp for defecting or something. Isn't that what you people do?"

Logan was pistol whipped before he knew what was happening. He'd obviously struck a nerve and he was ready to continue along that line of talk when they both left the room abruptly, leaving him behind with an unconscious Veronica. He felt helpless at being unable to free himself or Veronica. He hated feeling like he had no control over the situation. He hated feeling so weak when he was used to being self-reliant. He hated the position he was in and the position he'd evidently put Veronica in. And he had no idea how to keep then both alive, when all he had was to provoke the two the way he would provoke Weevil.

"What…" He heard the word mumbled quietly, almost so quiet against the silence and harshness of the room, that he didn't know if he'd truly heard it. He tried to turn his head to where he could see Veronica and he could see her head wavering from side to side, as she tried to shake the grogginess fogging her head.

"Where am…what's…."

"It's okay, Veronica." Logan tried to make his voice soothing, but he rarely could reach that. His voice usually had that playful, antagonizing tone that in actuality soothed Veronica more than what he was doing now.

"Logan?" She was confused now. She remembered being in her apartment, seeing Backup muzzled and tied to a table, and being thrown on the back of a motorcycle. Weevil. The PCH gang. They'd taken her, but for what reason, she was unsure. She hadn't been involved with any of them lately, she'd tried to stop calling on Weevil to help her out of certain situations. Tried.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Kidnapping. Threats. Imminent death."

Veronica tried to move, but found that she was bound to the chair she was seated in. Her head was pounding and she couldn't think straight. She couldn't clear her head, no matter how much she wanted to. She remembered him putting something over her mouth. The jerk must have drugged her. She sighed and took a survey of her surroundings, though it was hard in the dim light.

"Why'd they kidnap me?"

"I'm not really sure. I kind of upset our captors a bit, you know, using big words and complete sentences really confuses them."

Veronica was almost amazed that Logan was able to keep his sharp edge with him after what it looked like he'd been through. His face was tired, his hair mussed, a bit of blood trickled down his mouth. Then again, she shouldn't be surprised. Logan had always had this attitude of the world owing him something, and he kept it with him no matter what happened. The only time she had seem him collapse was when he had finally accepted that his mother was dead.

Logan continued his way of explanation, "But they took me so I'd admit to blame for Felix's death. They don't seem to buy my account of not remembering anything after standing on the bridge railing. Unfortunately, admitting to something I don't remember isn't any better than refusing to admit it, because either way I'm likely to end up badly beaten or dead or something delightful like that. You know the biker gang, working to make the world a safer place by killing one 09er at a time."

Veronica took a deep breath, ignoring the dank scent of mud and oil in the room where they were held. She wouldn't show her fear. She was Veronica Mars, girl wonder, and she didn't let anything rattle her. Letting the gang know that she was scared of them would be what they wanted. She'd never played scared of them before, so she wasn't going to start now. She met Logan's eyes and she nearly gasped. The intensity of worry in his eyes shocked her. Knowing how worried he was worried her. Logan was scared. And it wasn't just for himself.

"It's going to be okay, Veronica. We'll get out of here."

Veronica's voice was slate when she replied. "Damn right we are."


	2. Disrespect

_**At Any Cost  
Chapter Two**_

_**Disrespect**_

The cell phone's ring was enough to stop the bitter fight between Auggie and Miguel. Initially, Miguel had thought bringing Veronica Mars to entice Logan to confess was an excellent plan. Granted, it was a dangerous one, but he was sure it was a positive way to make the Echolls kid talk. But listening to him point out all the errors in their grand scheme was enough to make Miguel reconsider. They could talk Veronica back to her apartment and she might even ignore the fact that she'd been kidnapped if they talked to her, explained the situation. Weevil wouldn't have to find out about this and in return, Miguel wouldn't be beaten to a bloody pulp on the boardwalk after being kicked out of the PCH gang. He was rather hopeful for his thoughts on how to get out of the problem he'd gotten himself in, but Auggie wasn't listening to him. Auggie was obsessed with getting Logan's confession, and he was willing to face Weevil's wrath for it. Miguel wasn't too happy with being involved in this anymore, but there was no way to get out of it if Auggie didn't let Veronica go. The minute the phone rang, both of their faces fell into a stony expression that only proved their reputation of toughness.

Miguel was not going to be the one to answer it. He couldn't possibly talk to Weevil right now. He hated that he was so nervous; he felt less manly for it. The fact that Weevil could have him removed from the gang with a snap of his fingers didn't matter. The principle of being scared of someone his own age, one of his own made him feel inferior and pansy-like. All the same, he wasn't going to face Weevil now.

Auggie had a similar look on his face; a fear all his own of talking to Weevil. He knew it would be no problem to lie to Weevil, especially when Weevil wasn't even around. But what if the Mars girl woke up and started yelling and Weevil overheard? What would they do if Weevil wanted to make his own trip to the garage to have a chat with Logan himself? The only thing that comforted Auggie was the fact that Weevil didn't want to dirty his hands with actually being here to torment Logan, and that Weevil was becoming more and more distant to the gang with every passing day. He was still leader…for now, but that could change any minute, particularly if Auggie got what every PCH member wanted. Felix's killer. So he finally decided he could answer the phone and get out of whatever it was Weevil wanted.

"Hello?"

"It took you long enough, man. I hate waiting around, Augusto."

Auggie almost laughed at Weevil's attempt at toughness. He had never doubted Weevil's power in the gang when he'd joined, but sometimes he wondered if all that Weevil put up was a front full of power and hate, when truly Weevil would rather by writing poetry or something equally as ridiculous. And every time Weevil tried to assert his power like that, Auggie just wanted to tell him to stop talking, because he wasn't nearly as dangerous as he thought he was.

"Yeah. Well, I was busy. I couldn't exactly start talking to you in front of the guy, now could I? You never know what he can hear over the line, even from where he's tied up."

Weevil didn't respond to Auggie's sarcastic reply, but continued on with what he had called for.

"Has he talked yet?"

"He keeps his claim of innocence. You know, it's just like in jail, where everyone is innocent even when we are all guilty. I don't know why he keeps lying about it."

"The gun hasn't even made him admit to Felix's murder?" Weevil's voice sounded surprised. He'd never really expected Logan to hold up after he had a gun waved around in his face, pointed at his hands and other valuable parts of his anatomy.

"Nope, nada. We've decided to try another method." Auggie's voice had turned dark and low, and he looked to see Miguel shaking his head emphatically. Miguel obviously didn't like the way Auggie played with their leader, intriguing him to the point that Miguel knew Weevil would ask what it was. As if on cue with Miguel's thoughts, Weevil asked, "What method is that? You haven't cleared anything with me and I didn't give you any other orders."

"You told me to do whatever it takes to get the truth about Felix. That's what I'm doing. You'll just have to wait for the results."

With that, Auggie actually hung up the phone. Miguel was open-mouthed at Auggie's disrespect toward Weevil, and the fact that Auggie didn't answer when Weevil called back shocked him even more. Auggie had obviously lost his mind and Miguel didn't want to take part in this anymore. But he couldn't leave. That was one of the major points of the gang. They all stuck together.

"This is a really bad idea, Auggie."

"Let's go back in and see if Blondie's awake."

Weevil didn't feel as confident in his friends as he once had. Felix's death had been a breaking point amongst the gang members and he felt less and less sure of how loyal the PCHers were anymore. He was discovering they each had their own particular endeavors that he hadn't known about. He felt his power and pull over the gang slowly slipping away and he absolutely was not going to let that happen.

Which was exactly why he couldn't stand the fact that he had just been hung up on by Augusto Hueres. He was the leader of this gang; he was the one who'd given the okay for Logan's little kidnapping; and he fast felt he was losing control of even something that was his idea. Auggie had ignored any questions that he'd had about this new method they had decided to try and he had a gut feeling that something bad was happening. He didn't think his fellow members would resort to murder, but with the right incentive (justice? truth? revenge?) they just might. No one could stand that Felix had been murdered.

Weevil missed Felix, not something he was exactly open with, but something he wouldn't hide, either. Felix had been his best friend. They'd fought, all the time actually, because Felix rarely felt like taking any kind of orders. He, above all else, understood the anger that arose from the murder of their friend. He took it as a personal affront to have someone attack his gang; they were one of the most feared gang in Neptune, along with the Fitzpatricks. If someone was brave enough to go against them…and murder one of them, the gang was obviously losing respect in the town and that posed a threat against all of the PCH members.

He was going to have to go find them and make sure everything was going as they planned. He would make sure that the boys hadn't departed too far from their initial plan and then he was going to see if he could get Logan to talk. By now, Logan would know that he was behind the intimidation plan. He would know a PCHer by appearance. So he might as well own up to it. What would the 09er do anyway?

Veronica had managed to find a way to slip her hands out from beneath the rope that the idiot had tied her up with. Honestly, she was a little offended that he didn't think enough of her abilities to get out of sticky situations to tie her up with something better. Sure, it burned a little to wrench her hands from the thick bindings, but it was hardly impossible…or even that challenging. She kept them available in the instance that they came in to check up on the two of them. Her next plan was to figure out a way to escape from this small, uncomfortable room with an injured Logan in tow. But sometimes, her thought processes were a lot easier thought than executed.

"Could you hurry it up a bit, Veronica? I figured you were an expert at escaping bondage." Logan's snarky tone held just enough suggestion in it to make Veronica seriously consider leaving Logan behind to face the psychos himself.

Instead, she smirked sexily and let him see the rope dangling in her hands, instead of around them. "Escaping has never been my problem. You've always been the root of all my problems. Of course, if you prefer the S & M approach, as you just hinted to me, I'm sure the boys wouldn't mind if I left you tied up here."

The look on Logan's face was enough to draw pure pleasure out of Veronica. She was about to say something else when she heard the door knob jiggle before it was turned. She whipped her arms back into place and slid her wrists through the holes.

Logan tried to avoid whipping his head over to make sure she was back in her bindings. The sight of the two thugs entering the room was enough to make the room fill with a tension other than the sexual tension Logan and Veronica often had when they were near each other. She was safely tucked away in the rope and he relaxed a bit, knowing that Veronica would be okay as long as the thugs didn't figure out what she was doing.

"You're conscious again. You know, for all the front you put up at school, you were awfully easy to take down. And the sheriff is always going on and on about how hard you are to catch at anything, since you're so sneaky with your investigative skills. I just had to walk right in, and grab you, and you barely even put up a fight. You obviously depend on your dog a little too much."

Veronica was hardly offended by this guy's appraisal of her ability to fight back against the biker gang. It was better than he underestimates her abilities anyway, because then his guard would be down, and it'd make her great escape considerably easier.

"Well, you know, a girl wants to sleep and suddenly, the boogeyman comes to rip her from her bed. Why'd you bring me here anyway? As far as I know, I haven't been investigating anything major, you know to merit getting kidnapped by the biker gang. By the way, you think I could talk to Weevil? I mean, I know we haven't been getting along lately, but I didn't think he would be okay with me being kidnapped."

The boy ignored her comments about Weevil completely. Instead, he turned his attention from the small blond and walked over to Logan. Veronica couldn't help but notice that the other one stood almost cowering in the back of the room. He didn't seem very happy about the situation and Veronica wondered if she could play that to her advantage. It would be very easy to make him wonder about what they were doing, and then maybe she could get his help, if the case warranted it.

The one closest to Logan began to talk to him.

"So, you feel like talking to us about Felix yet?"

He began to twirl the gun in his hand, in a dangerous spinning motion that would make it very easy to accidentally fire the gun. Logan watched as the end continually pointed at Veronica, and the pit in his stomach grew.

"Of course, I'll talk about him. His mom worked for the Casablancas. You know, for an older woman, she certainly is hot. Felix didn't look anything like her…"

The boy strolled casually back over to Veronica and before any of them knew it, he jerked Veronica's head to face him and he slapped her easily. The slap stung, but Veronica refused to show any kind of pain. She wasn't the type to give the satisfaction to them. But she couldn't keep the fear from her eyes when the gun was suddenly in her face, pointed directly in her temple. She tried not to let out a whimper, but she did, and she hated herself at that moment for showing the weakness.

Logan couldn't stand that she was being hurt and the thought of watching this guy pull the trigger that could end Veronica's life, and it was almost enough to yell out a confession. But he resisted, because he honestly didn't think he was going to be able to change the effect that this would have on Veronica. Besides, these guys probably wouldn't kill Veronica. The after-effects would be too much to actually do that.

And almost on cue, a knock on the door stopped everything.

The two thugs exchanged nervous looks that Logan noted with a great deal of satisfaction. Something was happening.


	3. Escape

_**At Any Cost**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Escape**_

The resounding knock set Auggie on edge as it disrupted his interrogation of the Echolls kid. He saw the look of fear in Miguel's eyes and he could only hope that his partner didn't panic. A feeling of disgust passed through Auggie. How did this boy who had no balls get into the gang? The PCH gang stood for bravery and loyalty and Miguel didn't seem to possess any quality. He didn't have any idea who would be on the other side of the door. Weevil didn't want to be physically involved in Logan's kidnapping and no one else knew they were there. A brief image of Keith Mars' face flashed in his mind. Worry that the man who was completely devoted to his daughter had found out what had happened and returned to take care of the problem shot through Auggie. Still, they knew Keith was out of town chasing a bail jumper for the next three days. Auggie cocked the gun, approaching the door slowly. The fist pounded on the door once more, sounding angrier. With each bang, Auggie was ready to protect his own as he unlocked the door, turned the knob, and peeked out to see who was on the other side.

Weevil glared at Auggie, already wanting to let Auggie know how little he enjoyed having to wait on him to answer the door. He wouldn't speak yet because he couldn't risk the 09er hearing his voice. He made several violent motions that indicated his disfavor and desire for Auggie and Miguel to join him on the outside. Auggie resisted the urge to throw the door open to allow Logan and Veronica to see who was behind the curtain. But he couldn't risk Weevil's instant reaction to seeing that they had gone against him and taken Veronica, a girl he had a very public truce with. Auggie motioned for Miguel to follow him out the door. The two slipped out, locking the door behind them, and prepared for Weevil's lecture on loyalty and having to lie about what was really going on now.

Veronica sighed in relief when the door shut behind thug 1 and 2. She was rarely fond of having a gun pointed at her, even when she had full faith she could escape from these two easily. She wasn't a fan of any kind of weapon being used to threaten her and she had the feeling Logan had been faced with them over the last day or so. She actually felt sorry for him and the mess he had gotten them both in to. He had been acquitted of Felix's murder this summer. How long would he have to pay – have to defend himself for it? They were going to have to escape no, while they had a few minutes, or they would be facing the risk of being killed or beaten even more than they already had. They might get caught, but Veronica didn't know when they would have the opportunity to leave again.

She flung her bindings on the floor and rushed to Logan's chair. Logan seemed surprised that she was going to run for it now, but he didn't comment on it. If Veronica was ready to chance it, he wouldn't stop her from doing it. He was obviously very tired of being held hostage and without Veronica; he would likely never escape, no matter how intelligent he was. The gang might actually kill him for retribution. He definitely wasn't ready to be dead, despite his suicidal tendencies. Being faced with your own mortality was quite a bit different from wishing for it. Now that he was faced with it, he refused to accept the mortality.

It almost hurt Logan's manly pride to have Veronica come to his rescue; it probably would have if his savior had been any other girl. However, he wasn't about to let his pride get in the way of escaping. His arms ached and were fatigued from having them spread out and tied up. His wrists were red with rope burn, but that was the least of his problems. He was stiff and weaker than he was willing to admit from lack of nourishment. He'd been held for at least two days by these two thugs and things were just getting worse. He refused to allow Veronica see what he was really feeling, though, so he straightened his spine, popped his back and neck, and placed the cocky smirk onto his face.

"Thanks. I've been pretty uncomfortable for the last few hours." His nonchalance at being kidnapped almost irritated Veronica.

"Tends to happen when you've been tied up for sometime." She dismissed Logan easily after that comment and began searching the room for hidden windows or any other way out. The place was a junk pile, a complete stack of crap that crowded the walls of the room in overflowing boxes along with tables full of knick-knacks that had no apparent use. Veronica had deduced they were either in a garage or a basement, her guess was a garage. Thus the isolation and junk. She figured there must be some other way out of the building and she was going to find it.

She began pushing boxes aside, scanning the walls for any sign of an opening or weakness that they could break through. Logan observed her frantic search with curiosity, standing still for a moment before moving forward and joining her in the search. Logan was pushing boxes out of the way, looking as intently as Veronica when he found the small window. He couldn't picture anyone's body fitting through that window, including Veronica's small frame, but all the same, he called Veronica over to inspect it in case she could come up with any bright ideas.

Veronica was pleased Logan's search had proven fruitful. For once, the boy was useful. She stood next to him, bending down to examine the window pane. She didn't know if she would be able to slide through the window at all, and she knew Logan wouldn't be able to fit through. As far as she could tell, there was no obvious way to open it either. The window was sealed; she couldn't even push it open. She sighed, perplexed. They wouldn't have much more time before the henchmen would return. They had to get out quickly and quietly, but the only thing she could think of was to break the window. Should they chance the men hearing the breaking of the glass or should they try to find another way out? Did they have time for either option? Veronica would have to make the decision and fast.

She glimpsed around at the mountains of junk, willing there to be something in them that would aide them in their escape. She saw the saw lying on the table to her left. She straightened, grabbing the saw to examine the dulled blade. However dull it was, it would have to work. She handed it to Logan and tossed him several quick instructions. "We'll have to do this quickly because it's going to make more noise than we can really afford." She began pointing out where Logan should make the incisions, but made sure he knew to wait until she signaled him to start.

She sent a furtive glance at the door, wondering how much noise would carry through. She found a drop cloth on top of a box, pulling it apart while moving to the door. She shoved the cloth around the insignificant opening at the bottom of the door to muffle any noise that they would be making. She striped off her jacket and wrapped it around her hand to protect her fist, satisfying herself with all the precautions they had taken care of. She finally gave Logan a less than gentle signal to stand over her to start cutting the wood directly above the window while she broke the glass.

Veronica bit her lip while the sound of the glass cracking. She couldn't deny the pain that shot through her arm just from the impact, but it didn't slice through her skin yet, though it did catch on her jacket. She tried to ignore the pain by trying to yank the jagged pieces with her free hand. She had a momentum going in tune with Logan's frantic motions. They were so close to being free. She felt the edge gash deeply down her left hand, but she barely noticed it as she dropped more pieces on the floor. They were almost free. Being free was considerably more important than whining over a simple cut.

Logan was making some serious headway with the wood above the window. He tried to keep a good grip of the wood while it became unattached, but his weakened state made it nearly impossible. The wood hit Veronica's should, just barely missing her neck, and she grunted from the contact. He almost apologized profusely, but Veronica didn't seem the least bit interested in anything he had to say (not completely unusual, but this was different). She pulled the last of the window out and pushed herself through the small opening. She waited only a few moments for Logan to do the same. When he didn't directly follow, she walked on out through the property.

Logan resisted the urge to stay behind and lie in wait for the bikers to return. He would love to show them what it would be like if they were on a level playing field, with Logan not tied up and vastly outnumbered and off guard. He wanted them to know that he wasn't a weak kid that could be thrown around. But he knew that leaving now was the wiser choice. He had no doubt that he would run into those two again. He would be stronger then. And he wouldn't have Veronica to worry about. He tossed the saw on the floor, crunched against the glass, then slid out of the garage quite a bit more awkwardly than Veronica had, his shirt catching on various rough edges.

She had already moved up ahead to see if she recognized any of her surroundings. She had no idea where they were and she had no idea how she was going to get them back where they belonged. Pain was ripping through her arms and shoulders, her hand was throbbing and at the very least she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry while taking a nice, long, hot shower. There was no time for her to be weak and daydreamy right now, she was no more beat up than Logan was. And she'd been held captive for a whole lot less time than Logan had. She couldn't keep complaining, even if it was in her head.

She felt his presence before his arm even draped over hers, knew he was there before the self-serving tone spoke to her.

"You're nice to have around in a tight spot, I guess. Have a lot of experience with escaping from being tied up?"

"You go that way, I'll go this way. Maybe I'll get lucky and you'll drop dead before you even reach town and the vultures will get to your body before anyone finds you."

Miguel stood in the corner, trying his best not to look overly nervous, particularly when Weevils eyes stopped on him and focused in an intent study. He tried to keep his breath steady and look Weevil in thee yes without seeming disrespectful. He knew that Weevil was sizing him up, just as he was sizing the situation up and one wrong move would send both him and Auggie to being outcasts in the PCH gang. Weevil finally stopped studying him, seeming to be satisfied with Miguel's demeanor, so he turned his attention to Auggie, the bolder of the two. Auggie was considerably more relaxed, his stance slouched, his facial expression almost defiant – but not overly so. Weevil recognized the look in his eye; Weevil had had it before, when he had just been a member of the gang. The look almost worried him, but Weevil had faith that he could take care of Auggie if the situation called for it.

"You never hang up on me, got it, Auggie?" Weevil said it while moving in to get into Auggie's face. "We were having a conversation and then you up and end it when I'm not even finished talking. I take that as a sign of disrespect. I don't appreciate disrespect."

Auggie knew that thinking fast would be imperative to him not getting thrown out of the gang and being beaten brutally by the other members. He stiffened only slightly, unnoticeable to a casual observer. Weevil was not a casual observer. He watched Auggie's widened eyes and prepared himself for a creative, on-the-spot lie about why Auggie had hung up on him. He knew exactly how to play this out. Miguel would be an easy target to get the real information out of after Auggie bended the truth in his own favor.

"Logan was making a bunch of noise and I had to go end it. Bringing the phone in with me didn't really make a whole lot of sense. You don't know how much trouble the 09er causes, Weevil. You haven't been here. You left this up to Miguel and me, and I hanging up on you was the only way I could go in there and make him stop."

Weevil gave him a bit of a smile. "I don't here him making any noise now." He hesitated, then continued, "Miguel couldn't take care of it? I wasn't on the phone with him and he was here. Is he too weak to take care of one person who's been tied up for a day? Is that the way it went down, Miguel? Auggie has to do your work while you stand around knitting blankets?"

Miguel immediately looked off guard. He had expected this whole exchange to go through Auggie and Weevil, his thoughts not included. Now he was forced to choose between Auggie and Weevil, backing up Auggie's lie and making himself look bad in front of Weevil or telling Weevil what was really going on, both more or less ending his chance of coming out of this whole mess without some form of violent retribution.

"Not exactly like that, man. I was gone, working on how to make him talk, and I figured Auggie could work Logan over without me here, be able to handle him."

Weevil almost laughed at the look on Miguel's face. These two were trying to save their reputations without ratting each other out too much. Weevil almost liked seeing that much loyalty among members if they weren't using that loyalty to betray him. Weevil nodded enthusiastically in mock belief of what Miguel had just told him.

"Of course. With the two of you split up, I'm sure Echolls is hard to handle on his own. All tied up."

Neither missed the sarcasm in Weevil's voice. They stood on edge while Weevil paced slowly to the door leading into the garage. Something was, without a doubt, going on that he didn't know about. Weevil hated being out of the loop; particularly when it was connected to the death of a gang member and the kidnapping of one of the more prominent sons in Neptune.

He put his hand on the knob and heard the protests of Miguel and Auggie when he twisted it to push it open. Something impeded direct entry and required Weevil to push a little harder. The door finally opened with a drop cloth pooled on the floor next to it. Weevil did a quick scan of the room while Miguel and Auggie clambered to his side. Surprise registered on three faces.

"You lost him? Here's a good question. How do you lose a pansy-ass white boy tied to a chair?

Miguel whispered the name, not even thinking about Weevil hearing it.

"Veronica."


	4. Safe

_**At Any Cost**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Safe**_

"What do you mean Veronica?" Weevil perked instantly at the mention of the tiny blond's name. She had no reason to be involved in this. She wouldn't know they had Logan yet. How could she possibly have helped him to escape?

"She was here. We found her snooping around, so we pulled her in to keep her silent." Auggie said this quickly, shooting Miguel a warning look to keep quiet. He couldn't have Miguel going on about how they had kidnapped Veronica from her house. Weevil was turning soft, especially where Veronica was concerned, and he wasn't going to explain himself to their so called leader.

"You shouldn't have done that. You should have let her go. She'll be coming after us all now, you know?"

"I'm not afraid of some blond wanna-be 09er. You shouldn't be either. Seriously, if you're still the leader of our gang, you should be stronger than that."

Weevil pushed Auggie up against the wall, anger surging through him, tiring of all of Auggie's insolence. He had lost Logan and now Logan would be running around free, the boy who killed his best friend, once again not facing punishment like all white boys. All of this was because of Auggie, the man who wouldn't bother to follow orders.

"You underestimate Veronica, cholo. She's helped us out of jams, but if she thinks we're the cause of one…especially one involving Logan, she'll be after us like a dog. I don't know why you brought her into this in the first place. You should have just gotten rid of her. She has nothing to do with Felix and she had no reason to be here."

Weevil stalked out of the room, barking a last order. "Go after him. They probably didn't get too far yet. See if you can get Logan again and get some answers, man. Or I might have to think about your place in the gang…."

Miguel hurried to the broken window to examine it while Auggie stood back and glared at Weevil's back, considering the ways he could throw Weevil out of the gang instead.

Veronica was limping now. She was growing tired of walking, her feet were dragging, and she was growing more and more exhausted and hungry. She had never missed the LaBaron more than she did in that very moment. Logan had been surprisingly silent, lagging behind her, though Veronica had the feeling it had more to do with the fact that he wanted to block her from anyone sneaking up behind them if it happened.

She hated heat now. Warm, sunny California had turned into a curse as they walked towards the middle of Neptune. The sun seemed to beat down on her, wearing her down even more, mocking her injured, helpless self. She tripped slightly on a rock and stumbled forward. Logan hurried to her, grabbing her around the waist, holding her to him closely. He couldn't help but feel responsible for the state she was in now. He had always felt responsible for her, since they had first been together. Even now when they fought, he wanted to make sure she was safe and protected.

Veronica didn't shrug immediately out of Logan's arms, enjoying the strong arms supporting her. She had lost a lot of blood and it helped to just have someone around to keep her from crashing. She couldn't stop herself from feeling comfort with Logan's touch, the closeness that she had once felt with him seeping back into her stomach like tiny curls of steam. Logan always seemed to be there when she needed him. Although, this was obviously his fault since he had been the reason she was kidnapped.

She jerked away after remembering the reason she was in this situation in the first place. Logan.

"Can't even accept a little bit of help, can you, Veronica?"

Logan's voice was cross from frustration, exhaustion, and thirst. His eyes flashed with the spirit that had been missing on the walk back to Neptune and ignited the fire back into Veronica.

"This is your fault anyways, Logan. You're kind of help just gets me into more trouble. I find enough of that as it is. I don't need you around complicating my life."

Logan whirled her towards him, eyes blazing, grip tightening. "Complicating your life? Your life? I'm the one who stood trial for murder. I'm the one who has the PCH gang after my life. They played Russian Roulette…"

"With me. They made me think that they were going to kill me. They came into my apartment and took me. You complicate my life. You always have."

She struggled with him, trying to slip from his grasp. His grip was too tight, almost bruising. If she had more fight in her, if she didn't like the feel of his touch, no matter how painful it might be, she would have gotten away. Instead she let him pull her to him, felt him lower his mouth slowly. Her eyes fluttered closed. Her heart began to race with anticipation of feeling another mind-melting kiss with Logan. It had been months since she had felt his mouth on hers, months since she'd felt his hand roam her body frantically with love and lust. She waited while imagining the feel of his hands on her. She waited. And finally she opened her eyes.

Logan's mouth was centimeters from hers. His hazel eyes scanned her face lazily. A pleased smirk spread across his face. "Complicate your life, huh? Seems to me like you want me to." No matter how much he wanted to close the deal and end the straining ache inside of him, he pushed her away and continued walking, letting her stare at him from behind as the anger built inside of her. At least the anger would get her to Neptune in one piece, without giving in to the pain she was feeling from her injuries. She'd make it to the hospital. Then, he'd take care of her.

The emergency room was bubbling with activity. Veronica had never really liked emergency rooms. Despite all she had seen, she hated looking at blood and people in massive amounts of misery. Logan didn't like emergency rooms, either, but his was for an entirely different reason. He had spent plenty of time in the ER to have Aaron's damages repaired, the various stories invented as to why his nose was broken or his chest was bruised so severely. He hated the memories the emergency room brought him. He couldn't deny the fact that they both needed to be there.

Veronica was lagging again as they made their way to the nurse's station. Logan quickly asked for the two of them to see the doctor. The nurse said in a monotone voice, passing the forms disinterestedly without even looking up, "You'll have to fill these out. A doctor will be with you in a moment."

She continued to type on the computer in front of her, only serving to irritate the exhausted and somewhat injured Logan. "Listen, lady, we've got some serious injuries, and I don't think my…Veronica can wait much longer. She's been bleeding for awhile and we had to walk a long way. So get off your ass and try doing your job."

Her response was to slide the Plexiglas over while snapping her gum in annoyance. Logan sighed and pulled the clipboards off the desk ledge and walked to a chair in the waiting room. He watched Veronica closely as she sank into the uncomfortable plastic chair. She closed her eyes slowly, her eyelashes fanning out over her pale cheeks. He paused for another moment, and then decided to fill out the form for Veronica as well. He figured he would be able to fill most of it out. He began scribbling on the paper.

She fell asleep in that chair, somehow. With all the noise, all the bustling, Logan had no idea how she could sleep so calmly. He watched her, responsibility floating around inside of him. It was his fault she had been abducted and hurt. He wanted to take care of her. Honestly, he knew he still loved her, even after the months they had been separated. He felt more than responsibility, but Veronica wouldn't accept it. And he definitely wouldn't force it on her.

He was tired of waiting on the doctor. He was tired of being in pain. He was tired of worrying about being convicted of Felix's murder even when he knew he hadn't done it. The feel of Veronica's head leaning gently on his shoulder did nothing to comfort him, though surprise him it did. He hadn't felt her so close to him and relaxed in a long time. How she had subconsciously moved closer to him baffled him completely. She didn't seem to feel safe with him awake, so why would she asleep? He glanced around the room just soon enough to see Weevil walk in the automatic doors.

He jumped to his feet, no longer thinking about Veronica's head on his shoulder. The movement snapped her awake, but disoriented her as well. Logan stalked towards Weevil, ignoring the pain and weariness in his limbs. "You have a lot of nerve showing up here, Weevil. Here to take us back to your little garage? Itching to try your hand at Russian Roulette? Or did you bring someone to do your dirty work?"

Weevil stepped up threateningly, irritated by Logan's words. He met Logan's gaze straight on as a sign that he wouldn't be submitting to Logan's threatening behavior, even though they were in a hospital well within security's reach.

"My boys seemed to have lost their dog and I came to clean up their mess." Weevil said it calmly and with a slight smirk in his voice.

"Does that mess include Veronica? I'm not surprised you came after me, but Veronica? What'd she have to do with this?"

Logan glanced at Veronica, now in the process of standing to join them and play damage control. Weevil followed his direction and saw the state Veronica was in. He was actually slightly surprised and only proved how he was losing control of his gang.

"My boys did this?"

Logan was about to make another snide remark, but Veronica had made it to his side. She shifted her weight to almost lean on Logan and brushed some of her hair off of her chapped lips. "Weevil. I really appreciated being taken from my home by your friends. I hadn't had enough danger this week."

"I didn't tell them to take you. You aren't the one I'm after."

Veronica scoffed immediately, not because she doubted him, but because of the fact that he was after one.

"And you think it's okay that you told them to take Logan? Why can't you just drop this? Logan didn't kill Felix on the bridge that night. Someone else did."

"Why do you believe that? Because he's going to make your life easier as soon as you start sleeping with him?"

Veronica couldn't believe that Weevil would sink that low. She knew they weren't as friendly as they had been the year before, but she hadn't expected him to call her a gold digging whore. She was ready to respond when her name was called by a nurse. "Veronica Mars."

The nurse tapped her foot impatiently and Veronica responded quickly so she wouldn't lose her spot to see the doctor. Still, she couldn't leave Logan behind to get in a fight with Weevil and be arrested for disorderly conduct. Lamb would love to haul Logan in once again.

"Logan, come with me please." She said it in a sweet voice. She had no doubt that Logan would come. Complicate as he might, he would still bend over backwards to help her, even when she wouldn't accept it.

He stared Weevil down before backing away to join Veronica. "We're not done with this, Weevil. You started this, so don't be surprised when I finish it. You should have thought twice before you messed with me. And Veronica." His voice was low and almost deadly. Anyone else would have been afraid. Weevil only nodded.

"I can't wait to see what you have in mind, white boy."


End file.
